


Time to Go

by draculard



Category: Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017)
Genre: Exile, F/M, Ficlet, Hurt No Comfort, Loneliness, Secret Relationship, Set during Treason, star-crossed lovers, unrequited requited love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:53:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27062224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/draculard/pseuds/draculard
Summary: They’re all on their way to the docking bay to say goodbye when suddenly Thrawn locks Eli and Faro out of the room.
Relationships: Ar'alani/Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo
Comments: 2
Kudos: 41





	Time to Go

**Author's Note:**

> Everyone please forgive the constant fuckery with this fic's tags. IDK why but I just could NOT get this fic to post right, even when I switched to my laptop and tried to edit it T.T It went from refusing to accept Ar'alani/Thrawn as a tag to refusing to accept Ar'alani as a CHARACTER and then to insisting that Ar'alani/Thrawn/Eli Vanto was the only existing relationship tag for this series. I weep.

Eli and Faro pulled up short when the shuttle door closed right in front of them. Eli almost ran into it; he drew back, blinking, and instinctively raised his fist to knock before he realized Thrawn and Ar’alani must have shut the door behind them for a reason.

Faro frowned, stepping up to the door next to Eli. She stood on tiptoe to peer through the viewport.

“Top secret conversation?” she said.

“Guess so,” said Eli uncomfortably. He glanced through the viewport; Ar’alani and Thrawn were facing each other and speaking quietly, so that Eli couldn’t hear them through the door. He could only see part of each person’s face — Ar’alani’s pinched expression, Thrawn’s tired eyes and downturned lips.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Faro asked.

Inside the shuttle, Thrawn lifted his hand as he spoke. His fingers brushed against Ar’alani’s wrist; he let his hand drop.

“I don’t know,” said Eli, eyebrows furrowed. “There’s a lot of things neither of them tells me about. Military stuff, I mean.”

Ar’alani turned away from Thrawn, robbing both of them of the chance to read her expression. After a moment, still speaking quietly, Thrawn touched her hand again.

“They’ve known each other a long time, haven’t they?” Faro said.

“They served together, I think,” Eli said. “She always sounds exasperated when she talks about him.”

Faro snorted softly. “Yeah, they definitely worked together, then.”

Inside the shuttle, Ar’alani turned back to Thrawn, her eyes blazing. Thrawn stopped talking; he ducked his head, staring at the shuttle floor.

Neither Faro nor Eli spoke for a moment.

“Do you think...?” Eli started.

Through the viewport, they watched as Ar’alani stepped closer to Thrawn, placing her hand on the back of his head.

“Do I think what?” asked Faro.

Eli didn’t respond. Inside the shuttle, Thrawn had gone still, his eyes fixed on Ar’alani, his expression open and — for the first time since Eli met him — easy to read.

Faro turned away, unable to bear the sadness on Thrawn’s face. Eli joined her a moment later, leaning with his back against the shuttle door. They were facing the other direction; neither of them saw it when Ar’alani leaned forward, her lips capturing Thrawn’s in a slow, gentle kiss.

“I was gonna ask, do you think they’re ever gonna see each other again,” Eli said, staring at the wall.

“Maybe,” said Faro. “If something like this happens again.”

Together, they stared at the wall, saying nothing. Silence stretched between them. It was ended only by a long, slow sigh from Eli.

“Exile,” he said heavily.

He didn’t say anything else.

When the shuttle door opened, Faro and Eli turned around to face their commanding officers. Thrawn was expressionless; Ar’alani was, too.

Turning to Eli — not even glancing at Thrawn as he left — she said in Cheunh, “It’s time to go.”


End file.
